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May 7, 2016 by tomdalzell

Love Letter to Berkeley Ace Hardware

Quirky Berkeley 03-26-2016

2145 University Avenue

Bill Eaton wrote me a few months ago, suggesting I write about Ace Hardware, which at some point in the relatively near future will relocate from University Avenue to the Tioga Building on Milvia just south of University.

Can do.  And, now – done.

The earliest common ancestor of Quirky Berkeley was a list I kept of Things I Love About Berkeley.  On that list was Berkeley Ace Hardware.

Aside from it’s easy to park and the people who work there are helpful and everything you need is there and the Brazilian food across the street – the things that I love about Berkeley Hardware are:

Photo: BAHA Archives

Photo: BAHA Archives

1) The building.  To learn about the building I wrote, of course, Daniella Thompson.  She told me that James Plachek designed the building and that it was built in 1915.  She sent me to an article she wrote for BAHA in 2007.  In that article I learned that the building was home to Sill’s Grocery and Hardware from 1915 until 1924, Appleton’s Grocery until 1964, and Berkeley Hardware since 1964.

2) The model trains.  Intrinsically quirky.  As are all models.

Quirky Berkeley 03-26-2016

Quirky Berkeley 03-26-2016 Quirky Berkeley 03-26-2016

.

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All of my children have loved going to Ace and seeing the trains.  Jake 30 years ago, Charlotte until a few years ago.  Julia and Rosalie in between.

3) The gum ball machine.

Quirky Berkeley 03-26-2016

Ditto with its popularity with my children.

4) The little cars and Homies on the stairs going down.

Quirky Berkeley 03-26-2016

Quirky Berkeley 03-26-2016

Quirky Berkeley 03-26-2016

Homies are two-inch plastic figures depicting Chicano characters.  David Gonzalez created them based on a comic strip that he had created.  They were introduced in 1998.  Gonzales has local ties – he went to the California College of Arts and lived in Hercules until a few years ago.

5) The model airplanes suspended from the basement ceiling.

Quirky Berkeley 03-26-2016

6) The slot cars down with the model trains.

Quirky Berkeley 03-26-2016

My friend Criswell was a big slot car guy in about 1965.  Convenient for him: the Holiday Raceway that was in Berwyn where he lived.

Holiday Raceway Berwyn

7) Lastly,the Chuckles.

Quirky Berkeley 03-26-2016My mother was very fond of Chuckles.  I don’t know of any other place in Berkeley where Chuckles are sold.  Scientific research shows that the red (cherry) ones are the most popular.  Not with me though.  My preference for the candies: black, orange, yellow, green, red.  I can do without the green and red all together.

Eaton sent me some photos that he took of the downstairs.  He wrote: “Took these the last time I was there, May 2014.  Started going there for model cars and planes in the early ’70s as a kid and always loved the ‘stairway to heaven’ descent to the hobby section.  A lot of the models down there in the past two+ decades came from the owner’s model collection, all unbuilt and never opened, so standing in the “stacks” and looking at kits from the 1950s through the 1980s mixed with modern kits was always an eerie form of time travel for me.  Undoubtedly for many others too.  So goodbye to all that and best of luck to Berkeley Hardware in its new location.”

Screen Shot 2016-04-06 at 6.17.39 PM Screen Shot 2016-04-06 at 6.18.22 PM Screen Shot 2016-04-06 at 6.17.56 PM

Screen Shot 2016-04-06 at 6.18.53 PM Screen Shot 2016-04-06 at 6.20.10 PM Screen Shot 2016-04-06 at 6.19.45 PM Screen Shot 2016-04-06 at 6.19.31 PM Screen Shot 2016-04-06 at 6.19.06 PM

My friend is as big fan of Berkeley Hardware as I am.  I showed him the photos.

He resorted to Tagalog for his answer in honor of the Filipinos who work at Berkeley Hardware: “Kung ano any isang bihaye!”  Meaning what????

IMG_3677-225x300

 

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7 Responses to Love Letter to Berkeley Ace Hardware

  1. William Newton says:
    May 7, 2016 at 3:48 pm

    Probably my favorite store in Berkeley.

    Reply
    • tomdalzell says:
      May 7, 2016 at 4:03 pm

      Do you have any photos or comments about the store that you’d like to add to the post? I know that they are just moving, but I will mourn even that.

      Reply
    • Patty says:
      June 27, 2021 at 8:40 pm

      Mine too! Do you know if they will move back ? I thought they would keep the old building!

      Reply
      • tomdalzell says:
        June 28, 2021 at 11:34 am

        As far as I know, they are not moving back, but I am not sure.

        Reply
  2. doug heine says:
    May 7, 2016 at 4:12 pm

    Thank the Lordy they are not leaving town, My kids all grew up loving that store
    Doug

    Reply
  3. Dali says:
    May 7, 2016 at 11:55 pm

    I was so happy to see this article. It’s the end of an era and it’s good to mark these occasions

    Reply
  4. Mary Ann Brewin says:
    May 8, 2016 at 12:14 am

    What a wonderful pictorial (and other) ode. This was one of my and my kids’ favorite places for
    46 years. Seeing your photos now, I see how much we took for granted, things that were so captivating from when we first saw them. I loved going down dim aisles in the basement with no idea what I would find on the shelves. Treasures everywhere! And the trains!!! It will never be replaced. Thank you for this treat.

    Reply

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